Adventure Riding in NZ

Welcome Back Chevy Ride Out

Not all adventure rides are all gravel.

This ride out was only sealed roads to provide a ride out for an injured friend (first ride in over a year), as well as for our Taihape and Taumaranui local guides. These guys ride gravel all day and wanted a tar sealed ride out for a change. This trip included a rider on his 400cc BMW Scooter, with 15’ rims. Went well and kept up in all situations.

The ride: Day one: Leaving Upper Hutt at 7:30am, a pick up in Carterton and then up country to Dannevirke to meet three more riders. Fuelled up here.
From this stop we rode up to Bay View Napier via Highway 50. Expecting to meet our Taihape, Owhango crew here at 12:00 noon. Wasn’t till 1:30ish they came in (3 more riders and now our full complement of 8). There were huge construction delays on the later half of the Gentle Annie for them.
After a regroup and refuel, we shot through to Gisborne for the night. Arrived at approx 5:00pm. Not bad going with the delay at Bay View.

Day 2: Left Gisborne at 8:00am breakfast on the way in Gisborne. Aim to cruise the iconic and scenic Highway 35. First compulsory stop, Tolaga Bay and its famous wharf.
Leaving here next stop was Anaura Bay. Is off the beaten track but a very cool place to be. Nice beach. See photo of memorial. A ride member reckons he’s going to camp here when he can.
A quick rest stop at Tokomaru 4 Square, for our Highway 35 T Shirts. Then just down the road to the Te Puka Pub for lunch
The original pub was wiped out by a landslide and the current pub rebuilt in 1988.
From here we back tracked to Highway 35 and onto Ruatoria for fuel for the scooter. This place has not changed in the last few years. Very poor area. Carrying on we bypassed Hicks Bay and Lottin Point (been there before). Lottin is the only place in NZ you can fish for Marlin off the rocks apparently.
We refreshed and some riders refuelled here at Waihau Bay. Some big money homes here, we watched the boats launching and retrieving off the boat ramp. Always amusing, also a big team of Fisheries Officers present. Good to see.
Moving on, we shot through to our overnight accommodation in Whakatane via Opotiki.

Day 3: The aim was to get to Ohakune for the night. Traveling through to near Murapara on some fast back roads via Kopuriki Road. (and not the 80 and 60 km/h main highway to Rotorua.) turning onto Highway 38 and finding Highway 5. Awesome flowing roads to this point. Pretty devoid of traffic. Turning right we followed Waikite Valley Road and other back roads to refuel at Whakamaru. Rode Highway 32 via Tihoi, Kuratau, to Tokaanu and onwards via Highway 47 to National Park. Then onto Ohakune. Our 2 riders from Taihape, Owhango found their own way home from Murapara.
Once ensconced at “The Kings Motel”, some of us shot up to the Turoa car Park. Worth the trip up here. Awesome tar sealed access road. This would be an awesome hill climb race track. Oh! also awesome views from the car park.

Day 4: Up and out of Ohakuni, for a short dash to Raetihi for breakfast at the Angel Louise Café. Huge, huge meals here. Always worth the stop. Moving on, we rode the twisties out to Pipiriki and down the Whanganui River Road. Called into Jerusalem on the way through. Out at Highway 4, through South riverside of Whanganui City, up the hill to Fordell and back out to Highway 3.
Here we started splitting up to go our separate ways to Pohangina, Ashurst, Carterton and Upper Hutt.
A great ride, all on tar sealed roads, Upper Hutt riders did just over 1900km.
I would do it again.

Kingsman River Valley Rideout 2024 DAY THREE

Monday, we packed and departed about 9:15am. At this point the locals departed for home and North. The rest of us who were going South were lead by an almost local. We travelled some fantastic well groomed fast gravel and sealed roads back to Maungaweka to refuel. Pukeokahu Road is always worth a look. Through Taoroa Junction and onto the flowing Torere Road and Omatane South Road. Great weather, great rural roads, we encountered no traffic. Leaving Maungaweka we dashed it South to Ohingaiti. Turning left into Otara, Block, Sandon, Waipuru and Mangapapa Roads. All fast flowing, well groomed gravel this time. It is here, we left the Ashurst and Pohangina locals for rest of us to travel on Lower Pakihikura and onto join the Vinegar Hill Road. Followed the sealed roads via Cheltenham and bypassing Fielding to zig zag onto Rongotea. We were in torrential rain at this point. Stopping at Rongatea to regroup. Leaving here, we then rode through to Tangimoana and onto the beach (low tide). Slipping, sliding, drifting and wheeling our way south to Foxton Beach. Out to the main road at Foxton and into the weekend traffic. Stopped in at Levin for some refreshments, to the depart for our homes further south.
Would use River Valley lodge again as a base. Highly recommended.